"The comments made by head football coach Bo Pelini in 2011, published Monday, are unfortunate and deeply concerning to us, as they would be to anyone who loves this university. Our coaches, staff and student-athletes must be held to a high standard and coach Pelini's remarks were unfair to the legions of Nebraska fans and not what we expect from a representative of this university.

"Former Director of Athletics Tom Osborne became aware of these comments and the existence of a recording more than a year ago, and addressed the matter with coach Pelini. We have observed, and many others have commented, that coach Pelini's demeanor has significantly improved since the time of this incident. Coach Pelini has given us his assurance that he understands the seriousness and inappropriateness of his comments. We believe he is sincere in his apology and in his regret. We are prepared to put the matter to rest. Our football student-athletes, coaches and staff deserve all of our support and we know the Nebraska faithful will be there for them."

Pelini, who formally apologized Tuesday for the recording in which he vented on a "fair-weather" fanbase and members of the media, discussed the situation Wednesday morning on SiriusXM radio and said he had an "idea" of who leaked the 2011 audio recording.

"I think we're a lot closer to (knowing), if it hasn't been completely determined already," Pelini said on SiriusXMvia CBS Sports. "I have an idea (of who it is)."

Pelini said he thought it was a "private" conversation and that he was confident he's built up enough "points" to earn forgiveness from fans.

"I'm human like anybody else," Pelini said Tuesday during the Big Ten teleconference. "You say things in an emotional moment under certain circumstances and like anybody else you make mistakes, you apologize for your mistakes and move on. That's all you can do in this situation."

Pelini has faced criticism from Nebraska fans for losing four games in each of his five seasons, and last Saturday's 41-21 home loss to UCLA only deepened concerns about the direction of the program.